Jason Hartsfield
Starkloff Disability Institute
Disability Inclusion Lead Consultant
jhartsfield@starkloff.org
www.starkloff.org
Jason has made improving the lives of people with disabilities his mission throughout his career. As Starkloff Disability Institute’s Disability Inclusion Lead Consultant, Jason combines his background as a social worker and career advisor with his own personal experiences living with both chronic mental health conditions and ocular albinism. Jason has trained and consulted organizations including Ameren, BJC, Centene, Edward Jones, Emerson, Mercy Healthcare, Nestle Purina Petcare, Nordstrom, Permobil Seating and Positioning, Wells Fargo, and World Wide Technology. His workshops and webinars on disability inclusion have attracted thousands of attendees from across the country. Jason has a Master’s Degree in Social Work from the George Warren Brown School of Social Work at Washington University. He currently serves on the steering committee for the Gateway Employment Nexus and is an active member of the St. Louis Diversity and Inclusion Consortium and the St. Louis Employment Alliance.
About
In 2013, Jason Hartsfield asked his boss if she knew he was visually impaired when he interviewed for his job. She told him she didn’t know he was visually impaired, but he seemed “off.” While providers are used to discussing disability in terms of visible and invisible, the reality is that hearing loss, chronic mental health conditions, speech impairments, cerebral palsy, low vision, neurodivergences, chronic pain, and scored of other disabilities include noticeable behaviors employers will notice but won’t immediately connect to a disability. This leads many to be unfairly judged as inattentive, anxious, or weird. In this interactive presentation, Jason will present a new category of disability: the semi-visible disability. Jason will discuss Starkloff Disability Institute’s innovative approach to for advising individuals that fit into this category, provide case studies of job seekers in this category, and guide the audience as they practice crafting self-identification and accommodations request strategies for each study.
Learning Objectives:
1. Participants will learn what makes a disability semi-visible and the impact disability-related behaviors can have on job seekers.
2. Participants will practice crafting customized self-identification and accommodations request strategies for people with semi-visible disabilities.